headsman

Definition of headsmannext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of headsman Two other men, subjects of excellent Holbein drawings in the show, would keep appointments with the headsman. Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022 Even if your reality is the headsman’s block! Helen Shaw, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2021 Once upon a time, the queen could have sent rebels to the Tower and the headsman’s block, even relatives—especially relatives. Matt Seaton, The New York Review of Books, 9 Mar. 2021 The British prime minister has assembled a trio of headsmen to sever Britain from the mainland. Vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, 22 Mar. 2017 Several other leading figures of the period ended their days on the executioner’s block, including the unhappy Comte de Chalais, whose headsman bungled the job and ended up frantically chopping away at his screaming victim with a small hatchet. David A. Bell, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2012
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headsman
Noun
  • In 2003 the United States topples Hussein and delivers him to his executioners.
    Ta-Nehisi Coates, Vanity Fair, 15 June 2026
  • Under the method, executioners strap an inmate to a gurney with chest and shoulder harnesses and attach a mask to his face.
    Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 11 June 2026
Noun
  • The former cop also claimed to have found a hangman’s noose under Epstein’s mattress.
    Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 16 June 2026
  • Even-handed, compassionate, and as suffocatingly tense as a hangman's noose, Munich is Spielberg's most underrated film.
    Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, 13 June 2026
Noun
  • The digital replication right does not expire at a person’s death, and can be transferred and licensed by heirs, executors and others.
    Ted Johnson, Deadline, 18 June 2026
  • The fundraiser notes that Erin Joanis, the executor of the estate, will oversee the funds on behalf of the siblings.
    Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 18 June 2026
Noun
  • Ditto Hugh Jackman’s unerring performance — perhaps his finest dramatic work yet — as a savage, unfeeling thug and unrepentant murderer and thief.
    Randy Myers, Mercury News, 18 June 2026
  • The curse of season two is why Big Little Lies became a boring courtroom drama, True Detective became a running joke, and Landry became a murderer.
    Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 17 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Headsman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headsman. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.

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